By Ndubuisi Nwafor
“This
dimension of our identity politics is frightening, but it’s not an unusual
experience” – Gimba Kakanda, Daily Trust, 9 August, 2022
Nigeria’s political, social, cultural, economic and religious space is currently awash and agog with political activities. Such activities include ethnic, ageist, and other toxic innuendoes with the propensity to scuttle the very existence of our dear country Nigeria.
The history of Nigeria’s power transitions may have assumed a
parabola tangent, ranging from elections, coups and even appointments as was
the case with transition from IBB to Chief Ernest Shonekan, but in all, good
fortune and electoral popularity played major roles.
The argument that South East has been displaced politically in the power equation of Nigeria is an honest and painful truth, however, this situation is both self-inflicted and also as a result of festering fear of Igbo domination in the contemporary Nigeria.
It is self-inflicted by the continuing detachment mentality
prevalent in the South East after the unfortunate incidence of 1967-1970. The
attrition that was meted out during and after the civil war has been a clog in
the wheel of the no victor no vanquished re-integration policy of the 1970s.
Many people from South East extraction have both real and
imaginary examples of deliberate mistreatments in almost all facets of Nigeria
sectors. This has prompted the surge in embracing entrepreneurial ventures in
order to avoid queuing up for favours from our common patrimony.
The fear of Igbo domination is yet another factor that sticks
out like a sour finger. An average folk from the South East extraction is
seen as wanting to dominate the others. There are numerous allegations ranging
from “too much sense”, “too much love for money”, “too much boldness”, “too
much stubbornness”, and off course “too much hatred for themselves”.
These are traits I can say we shared equally in the country
among all the ethnic groups, but the toga of it has been firmly wrapped over
the shoulders of the Igbo alone. The Nigeria nation-state is a capitalist one,
with its attendant healthy and unhealthy competitions.
It is therefore difficult for any ethnic group in power to
equitably allow it to go round for the spirit of national integration and
political inclusion, this is why it was difficult for Goodluck Jonathan to
resist the temptation to contest in 2015 and allow the Northern part of the
country to produce a president, and this is also Why PDP even though presently
out of power found it impossible to allow Southern Nigeria to field a flag
bearer for the 2023 presidential election.
Beyond all these permutations is the need to improve the
plummeted standard of living of common Nigerians who have not amassed great
wealth like our present crop of politicians and technocrats. The cost of
living is now over the ceiling and most Nigerians in our spirit of “suffering
smiling” have started to show symptoms of mental illness called depression
without knowing it.
Buhari in all honesty cannot “do pass himself”. It is a
case of cutting your coat according to your cloth; our dear President has
expended his capacity; he has been honest to admit the limitation imposed by
age and ill health in facing the plethora of issues arising from the governance
of a complex country like Nigeria.
The abysmal state of security is a new normal, the economy has
been lost in the milky way of confusion and corruption and the President can’t
wait to hand over power and take his belated rest. However, he has been
reliable in laying a solid free and fair foundation for the electoral process
that would usher in his successor, in this sense, he is giving back and even
improving on the electoral system that brought him to power. This to me will be
one of his best legacies.
Peter Gregory Obi permeated the Nigerian consciousness as a
joker, who dared to upstage a well-entrenched PDP in Anambra State when the
almighty Uba family (Chris, Andy and Ugochukwu) were holding the state both at
the throat and the third-leg.
Nobody gave him a chance, not even a puncher’s chance. His voice
and message were off-key and different, he thought the system wasn’t working
well, he didn’t promise to share money and he suggested he could stop the
corruption that was ravaging Anambra state then. He even vowed to eradicate
godfatherism in the politics of the state, and people thought probably he had
been smoking and abusing a dangerous substance for him to dare to bring these
changes. He won the election- but regained his stolen mandate after challenging
Dr Chris Ngige in the courts, even when people thought it was a waste of time
to pursue such measures.
He was impeached unlawfully and became the first to return from
impeachment unscathed. Peter’s tenacity helped in enriching the democratic
jurisprudence of the present Nigeria. His stewardship to Anambra state is there
for anyone to go and verify. Currently, he is the Labour Party (LP)
Presidential candidate, with amiable Dr Datti Baba- Ahmed as his running mate.
Abandoning all doubts, the ambition of the Labour Party duo is
the best the country can afford now. I will not discredit other candidates who
have also accomplished loads in their own rights, but age, ill health and lack
of clear-cut agenda other than fulfilment of personal ambition to become
President may not suffice this time.
During Obama and McCain election duel, age and ill health was a
substantial factor that tilted the votes in Obama’s favour. Even in the
recent battle of septuagenarians between Trump and Biden, Trump tried hard to
depict Biden as old and away with the fairies, while himself is still intact
despite similar age because of his good genes! Nigeria cannot afford another
President who is not “always aware” of the issues and challenges of governance.
We do not want another trappiest who will capture the Presidency
like a game and delegate the butchers to do the needful, while he is racking in
estacodes from medical tourism. We want a hands-on President who understands
the economy and who has the temperament to unite the ethnic, religious and
political divides in the country.
Louis Pasteur opined that “chance favors only the prepared
mind”, Peter Obi has been prepared by both hard work and good fortune for this
moment in Nigeria’s history. He has done well as a business man, governor
and patriot.
He has elevated his political discourse to the highest decency,
and has not yielded to the baits of his opponents who would want to link him
with IPOB, MASSOB, BIAFRA, IGBO, HIDDEN AGENDA etc.
In the final analysis, the choice is clear, I thank God petrol
pump price is the same everywhere in the country, cost of food items almost the
same everywhere as well, and the value of naira is the same everywhere in
Nigeria.
If Peter wins, it will be doing equity to the South East by
integrating them into the mainstream of the Nigeria governance, by doing this,
we have nothing to lose other than our bad economy and failed security.
We will also have the opportunity to trust and test a Nigerian from the South
East extraction with the highest leadership position in modern Nigeria.
I can bet that Peter and Datti will deliver on their electoral
agenda if they translate their enormous goodwill and visibility into votes in
2023.
*Dr.
Ndubuisi Nwafor is the former Associate Dean, Faculty of Law, University of
Nigeria Enugu Campus. ndu81@yahoo.co.uk. 08162371113
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